Odds & INS.

Career Finish, '69 Cubs' Flop Keep Santo From Hall, Stat Guru Says

May 05, 1994|By Terry Armour.

The whole thing is puzzling to Bill James. After several attempts, former Cubs third baseman Ron Santo is still trying to get into baseball's Hall of Fame. James thinks this is a crime. "Santo is the best player who has been overlooked for the Hall of Fame by the writers and that's it," said James, in town Wednesday to promote his new book "The Politics of Glory: How Baseball's Hall of Fame Really Works."

James said Santo's numbers (342 home runs, 1,331 RBIs, .277 batting average) are comparable to other Hall of Famers. But things like the Cubs' collapse in 1969 may be hurting Santo, who starred for the team from 1960-1973 and finished his career with the White Sox in 1974. "The Cubs didn't win it in 1969 and I'm sure that had something to do with it," James said. "His career ended very quickly. In 1972 he was a very good player with the Cubs and in 1974 was a not-so-successful player with the White Sox. Then his career was over. He didn't have that five-year period where he hung on and people talked about what a great player he used to be." Santo has just three more chances for the writers to vote him in. What's going to happen? "I believe in the ultimate logic of the universe," James said. "Time is almost ready to run out on him, as far as the writers are concerned. I think eventually the logic of his credentials will become apparent to people. But I don't expect it will be in the next 20 years."

More from James: The talk with James turned to on-field stuff-mainly the whole juiced-ball theory. What does James think about it? "I don't believe the ball has been deliberately tampered with because I don't think the powers that be who run baseball could conspire to tie one another's shoelaces," James said. "However, I do think the ball is probably livelier. I think it's the tension setting on the machine that wraps the ball. If something like that is changed, then it's going to create an effect on the ball."

The solution: James said when he attended a Toronto-Kansas City game earlier this week, he noticed the home plate umpire widening the strike zone a bit. James thinks that might continue. "Something will happen," James said. "The umpires will decide that this is ridiculous. They don't want half the league with Roger Maris stats."

Stiff competition: Expect De Paul's Joey Meyer, Loyola's Ken Burmeister and Chicago State's Craig Hodges to bump into each other a lot in the coming weeks. All are searching for assistant coaches.

Soccer fever: Forget the World Cup for a minute (if you haven't already). The real deal in the Chicago area takes place on Saturday at Brother Rice High School when Santos Degollado of the Chicago Latin American Soccer Assocation takes on the ACC Eagles of the Metropolitan Soccer League at 4 p.m. for the Illinois Championship. The winner advances to the Midwest semifinal of the U.S. National Open Cup, May 15 against the Cleveland Kickers.

Keeping busy: In a lot of ways, former Bear Gary Fencik is busier now than in his playing days. Fencik, who will be part of WFLD Fox-32's Bears coverage next season, is involved in several off-season things. Fencik joins Al Kaline, Everson Walls, Joe Morgan and Bill Mazeroski as one of the celebrities involved in Sports Fantasy Tours to Major League baseball parks around the country. Fencik will handle the Chicage end of the deal. "I'm from Chicago and I live in the city so I try to get involved in as much as I can," Fencik said. "But right now, my priorties are work and family. I have an 8-month old and another one on the way."

Count Jim: Because of his heavy schedule, Fencik had to pass on the "Great American Workout" Saturday at Gurnee Mills. Surprisingly, former Bear quarterback Jim McMahon will be on hand for the day-long health and fitness extravaganza-even if they have to wheel McMahon in on a stretcher. "Jim and I, if anything, know what it's like to be in shape and then injured," Fencik said. "But he's like Dracula; he just keeps coming back."

In closing: In his new book, James also predicts which current or former Chicago baseball players will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The list: Carlton Fisk (in the year 2000); Andre Dawson (2001); Jim Kaat (2003); Tim Raines and Ryne Sandberg (2010); Jack McDowell (2015); and Frank Thomas (2017). Uh, that was before McDowell's horrendous 1994 start. So, what about Black Jack's chances now? "I probably should have left that list out of the book because everybody wants to talk about it," James said. "Let's just say (McDowell) has a corner of a Hall of Fame career, but hardly a foundation at this point." There's still time, Black Jack.